Impact of E-commerce on Retail Industry

Literature Review

LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction :
Technology and smartphones have transformed the way of doing business. It has made it
easy for consumers as well as business to operate in different markets at global level. In the
recent era, there has been a significant increase in E commerce companies. Due to this, the entire
market condition has changed (Saunders and Bezzina, 2015) The major impact of E commerce
industry is on physical business. It has forced them to develop products so that more customers
can get attracted. Apart from this, change in shopping trends has modified the customer
experience and behaviour. This is the main reason why most of the people prefer online shopping
rather than going to markets. Moreover, shopping is the social ritual. It is just like that we go to a
restaurant to eat food. The concept of physical shopping offers an opportunity to satisfy deep
human needs for social interaction. For example – people who stay outside the Apple store just
to buy latest Iphones or iPad. They could buy it online in next few days. But they want to feel the
experience for which they visit store. The entire retail business is changing. There has been
decline in the sales and profits in physical markets.
E commerce continues to evolve at rapid rate. Companies just need to maintain pace with
the latest online new trends in order to remain survive in the market. It seems like physical
market of retail has almost diminished from the market ( Sessler and Imrey, 2015) There is a
very little and slow growth of them. It is because e commerce industry has created a negative
impact on small retailers. Internet has forced people to follow the concept of sit and shop.
Main body
In the recent era, smartphones have transformed lives of people. It has provided them a
platform through which data and information can be accessed to a great level. The way consumer
thinks and expects products is very challenging. Due to the emergence of E commerce industry,
the retail sector is highly affected. E commerce industry has restricted the growth and
development of retail sector in physical market. They way retail industry has changed the
business operations is very interesting. People are now considering to shop online rather than
going to the market. Shrivastava, Shah and Navaid, 2018 said that E commerce has provided a
large variety of products to choose from. Besides this, it has also enabled companies to increase
their product portfolio so that a large number of customers can be attracted. Moreover,

companies are expanding their operations in a wider area by using by developing their own
websites.
According to Clark and Woolner, 2017 there has been already a lot of innovation in
how retailers are seeking to meet the expectations of people. It is because; there has been
frequent change in the tastes and preferences of customers. They are demanding more as their
income level is increasing. Smartphones have provided a large touchscreen to browse and
purchase items anytime and anywhere. As elucidated by Totawar and Prasad, 2016 E commerce
companies are taking advantage of technology. Online technology offers consumers to buy
products at any moment. On the other hand, physical store offers customers to expectations and
fall in love with the brand. As per the views of Niaz and Rivas, 2016 in the future, there will
less distribution at physical retail stores. It is because of less involvement of people physically
with the product while buying.
Concept of E commerce
According to Sessler and Imrey, 2015 E commerce is a platform through which people
and business are connected to each other. It is an online way of doing business. Internet has
provided a platform through which products and services can be sold and purchased. The reach
of internet has made it easy to retain business to grow and expand their operations worldwide.
This is the reason why retailers are focused on generating huge revenue from e commerce.
Impact of E commerce on retail industry
As per the views of Carlsson and Walden, 2015 the major impact of E commerce is on
retail sector. This is because of variety of products available to people on a single platform. By
using technology, people can access data and information very quickly and easily. Retail sector
includes are like grocery, clothing, etc. According to Chauhan, Semwal, and Semwal, 2015
companies are investing a huge amount on providing goods and services to people in an effective
manner. This is done to increase their satisfaction level and retain them. Besides this, rise in E
commerce in every country has affected market conditions. It has enabled them to gain enough
competitive advantage in the market. E commerce industry is dominating the retail sector and
world’s economy. As said by Gherissi and Benzarti, 2016 the change in trend of shopping has
given shape to retail industry. E commerce has combined the products of many retail companies